Synopses & Reviews
In the most comprehensive examination to date of Heideggerand#8217;s Nazism, Emmanuel Faye draws on previously unavailable materials to paint a damning picture of Nazismand#8217;s influence on the philosopherand#8217;s thought and politics.
In this provocative book, Faye uses excerpts from unpublished seminars to show that Heideggerand#8217;s philosophical writings are fatally compromised by an adherence to National Socialist ideas. In other documents, Faye finds expressions of racism and exterminatory anti-Semitism.
Faye disputes the view of Heidegger as a naand#239;ve, temporarily disoriented academician and instead shows him to have been a self-appointed and#8220;spiritual guideand#8221; for Nazism whose intentionality was clear. Contrary to what some have written, Heideggerand#8217;s Nazism became even more radical after 1935, as Faye demonstrates. He revisits Heideggerand#8217;s masterwork, Being and Time, and concludes that in it Heidegger does not present a philosophy of individual existence but rather a doctrine of radical self-sacrifice, where individualization is allowed only for the purpose of heroism in warfare. Fayeand#8217;s book was highly controversial when originally published in France in 2005. Now available in Michael B. Smithand#8217;s fluid English translation, it is bound to awaken controversy in the English-speaking world.
Review
and#8220;The book is not a pamphlet but the outcome of several years of extensive and serious research. [and#8230;]andnbsp;Faye has unquestionably succeeded in collecting and laying out for the reader the documents of Heideggerand#8217;s deep involvement with National Socialism.and#8221;and#8212;Robin Celikates, H-Net Reviews in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Review
"All scholars and admirers of Martin Heideggerand#8217;s and#339;uvre should read the voluminous book on Heideggerand#8217;s infusion of Nazism into philosophy published by Emmanuel Faye. Having studied this tome, even French Heideggerians will no longer be able to deny the embarrassing depth and persistence of Heideggerand#8217;s philosophical involvment with Hitlerand#8217;s National Socialism."and#8212;Herman Philipse, Dialogue, Canadian Philosophical Review
Review
"Emmanuel Faye incontestably shows that Heideggerand#8217;s Nazism was not fleeting, casual or accidental, but central to his philosophical enterprise.andnbsp; Fayeand#8217;s book challenges us to draw the ethical consequences from this fact." and#8212; Robert E. Norton, University of Notre Dame
Review
and#8220;Is it possible for a great philosopher to become a devoted Nazi? In his absorbing and challenging study Emmanuel Faye grasps the complexity of Martin Heidegger the man and the magnitude of his achievement."and#8212;Elie Wiesel
Review
Finalist for the 2009 Book of the Year Award, presented by ForeWord magazine
Review
and#8220;Fayeand#8217;s reading of Heideggerand#8217;s philosophy is quite simply transformative. Through a meticulous perusal of new sourcesand#8212;letters, heretofore unpublished seminars and lecture coursesand#8212;he demonstrates that, during the 1920s and 1930s, right-wing ideological concerns were absolutely central to Heideggerand#8217;s
Existenzphilosophie. Upon completing Fayeand#8217;s study, it will be impossible to read Heidegger again naively, i.e., in a narrowly text-immanent manner.and#8221; and#8212; Richard Wolin, author of
Heideggerand#8217;s Children and Distinguished Professor of History and Political Science, CUNY Graduate Center
Review
Bronze medal winner of the 2009 Book of the Year Award in the Philosophy category, presented by ForeWord magazine
About the Author
Emmanuel Faye is associate professor at the University Paris Ouestand#8211;Nanterre La Dand#233;fense and an authority on Descartes. Michael B. Smith is professor emeritus of French and philosophy at Berry College and the translator of numerous philosophical works into English.